


Music To My Heart

by muffinsandtea



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro is hopelessly in love, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, Muhen is a great matchmaker, Part-time job, everyone thank Muhen, jazz jin, pianist!Akira
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:54:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29745309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muffinsandtea/pseuds/muffinsandtea
Summary: Akira just wanted a part-time job. What he didn't expect was that the said part-time job would also gain him a secret admirer.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 19
Kudos: 142





	Music To My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is a fic I wrote for a prompt on twitter and then decided to enhance, because I love pianist!akira A LOT, sooooo  
> Enjoy!

When Akira first came to Tokyo, he had a few options as to where he could work part-time.

He tried a few jobs here and there, but none of them seemed to be good enough for his tastes. No soul or unique feelings behind mundane tasks done for the sole interest of gaining money. 

He should probably treat it this way, he knows, but it's still hard to accept.

That's why one day, when Ryuji took him to Kichijoji and he saw Jazz Jin with a big "Singer Tonight!" sign on the way, it just... clicked.

He went there the same evening and sat down to enjoy the atmosphere. It felt too perfect to be true. He felt almost the same way he did in his hometown. It reminded him of when he played live a few times. He missed the specific mood and honestly thought he wouldn't ever be able to find it in a huge, busy city of Tokyo.

Oh, how happy he felt when he saw a little card on the counter, saying they were looking to hire a new pianist for evening performances.  
Everything seemed to be turning in his favor, how different than usual.

He talked to the club's manager Muhen a little later and, since it was already closing time, they went to audition Akira right then and there.

Some people would probably be scared by such a laid-back approach, but it somehow filled Akira with more energy to do his absolute best.

He really wasn't trying to show off, but the atmosphere filled him with so much adrenaline and joy, he couldn't not have given a grand performance. His fingers danced around the keys with god-like precision for a few minutes and Akira decided to end with a very complicated progression. He only did it once before live in his hometown, but he felt like his current circumstances were good to try again and so he went with it.

He succeeded, to his own surprise and well, as one may expect, got the job.

What the boy didn't know though, was that there was someone else other than the manager present in the club on this night.

Akechi was a regular, and Muhen also let him stay overtime a lot when he needed to unwind after work. The boy lived alone anyway, so it didn't really make a difference where he'd stay.

Somehow, the stars have aligned to make him be there on this particular day, to see the raven-haired boy's energy in its full glory.

Even for Akechi, who has absolutely no music knowledge, this was... extremely impressive.

Muhen caught onto Goro's "interest" way too quickly for it to be a good sign. They never talked about the new guy - who he now knows is called Akira Kurusu - but the manager just started to give the detective a heads-up everytime the pianist were to perform. Not that Goro wouldn't research it himself.

He came every single time too, only confirming Muhen's initial assumptions. Even on busy nights, he'd try to bring some of his work with him to the club, all for the sake of not missing even one performance, like his life depended on it.

After some time it got a little annoying though. Goro, ever so ready to strike up a conversation with anyone he deemed interesting, didn't say a word to Akira for weeks, just admiring him from afar.

And Muhen wouldn't leave it like that.

One time, he noticed Goro barely keeping his eyes open by the end of the night.

It wasn't hard to assume that he was overworking himself again and so the manager decided to invite the detective to rest in the back room. It wasn't necessarily unheard of between them. The back room couch was Goro's place to stay, either when he didn't want to be at home or fell asleep on one of the club's tables, because of exhaustion. Muhen never asked what was happening and Goro never wanted to elaborate. It just stayed like that between them and both seemed to be okay with such a turn of events.

It's not that the manager didn't care about boy's life, but as long as he was able to provide him shelter in unfortunate moments, he wouldn't ever refuse to.

It was a little after closing hours when Akira finished helping Muhen clean the club and started to get ready to leave, that an idea appeared in manager's mind.

"Please, could you do just one little thing for me, kid?" he said, while giving the boy a tray with water and some food "I have one self-neglectful guy in the back room. Care to give that to him?"

And so, the pianist found himself in a position of a delivery boy to some guy he knew nothing about.

What surprised him was the sight of... not at all "a guy he knew nothing about". It was the same boy that showed up so often at Jazz Jin. And a detective, who he saw on TV at least a few times, to boot. Now just sleeping on what seemed like an uncomfortable couch in the back room of a club.

Still, task's a task, so Akira nudged the boy a little to make him wake up and shook the tray in front of his eyes, to then set it on a little table standing near couch's armrest.

He was about to walk out, when he suddenly felt a gentle hand placed on his wrist. He turned around to see Akechi, still very strongly overtaken by the sleep's haze. 

He looked confused, but at the same time had that... aura of someone who just saw nothing short of a miracle happen before them.

"I'm most likely still dreaming, but... Would you mind... staying here for a little longer, Akira?"

How could he NOT get flustered at that? What was this guy saying? It's not like they ever talked to each other.

But against his better judgement, Akira complied.

Akechi refused to stop holding his wrist and was mumbling something quietly for a while, before seemingly starting to come back to his senses.

It was just a moment, but you could exactly see how his eyes narrowed and hand flew away from Akira's arm in an instant. He still seemed sleepy and stared at his gloved hand for a second, before placing in on his lips in a moment of absolute shock.

Well, at least now he's awake for good.

"I- I'm so sorry, I'm not sure why I would do that" Akechi started to quickly apologize, words flying out of his mouth with an unbelievable speed. "I just- Are you okay... Kurusu-kun? I hope I didn't say anything weird to you."

Akira couldn't do much more than chuckle. Seeing the ever so collected detective fussing over him like that was amusing.

"You know, you already called me by my first name earlier" he said, earning a shocked cough from the other, a look of pure horror in his eyes "We could keep it that way. Right, Goro?"

If he was shocked before, what Akira said made the detective most certainly lose all composure he had left. He almost looked blank, so much so, that the raven decided to shake his hand in front of his eyes, to get him out of whatever trance he was stuck in.

"Come on" he started, getting the tray from the table "I didn't bring it in here for you to just ignore. You need to take care of yourself. We wouldn't want you to faint during my performance, right?"

That at least seemed to work, because Goro reluctantly took some bread from the tray and started munching on it, while averting his gaze from the other.

"You really are great though."

"Hm?"

"Your performances." Goro looked up to now stare deep into Akira's eyes "You just... radiate with that confident energy, sitting alone in front of a piano, with all the lights turned in your direction. You're stealing audience's attention even more than the regular singer and that's not at easy feat."

Well that was... unexpected. Akira never knew he garnered much attention, or rather didn't pay it much mind. Recognition wasn't his goal, he really just liked the authencity he felt while performing at the club.

But Goro seemed to be beyond the point of trying to save his face. He chose the honest approach. That sudden truthfullness did make Akira flushed though. It was perhaps the detective's time to leave him speechless.

"You know, I like to look at you when you play. It is perhaps a weird thing to say, but I... uh-" he fell silent after that, like he wasn't sure if admitting whatever he had on his mind outloud would destroy something in the moment they were sharing.

He didn't know what overcame him, but Akira instinctively moved his hand to the other's clenched fist and asked "You... what?

"I... I envy how free you seem to feel when you perform." said the boy after relaxing in Akira's hold a little "You are so happy, even when all that surrounds you is the spotlight. You're alone..." he paused "in all this limelight and yet... you're thriving and not getting suffocated..."

"Oh but... I'm not exactly alone, am I?" Akira said, letting his own mind wander a little, dipping into the thoughful atmosphere and quickly catching onto what Goro's trying to imply "And you're not either... are you?"

Seeing the detective's confused expression, he continued "Well... You have Muhen. You would be here, if he didn't want good for you." he thought for a while whether he should say the next thing, but decided to go with the flow for now "And you're coming every time I play, because... You feel like you you're not alone for that little while, don't you?"

"I- never actually thought about it, but I suppose so?" Goro seemed to be taken aback by this revalation "How would you know that though?"

Akira chuckled "Well..." he scratched the back of his neck to fill in the silence "I know the feeling myself. I was pretty lonely in my hometown and a musician there was that... ray of light to me? I know it might sound stupid, but... After I got sent to Tokyo, I thought I'd feel that overwhelming loneliness again. I found friends here though."

"Mhmm, good on you, then."

"Goro!" it's the first time this day that Akira raised his voice, he immediately caught himself and lowered the volume again "I'm not trying to brag here. We could get to know each other better too." he stood up and extended his hand out to the other with a smile "Come now, I'll walk you home."

And so, to Muhen's relief, the boys went out of the club together talking and laughing at whatever they deemed an entertaining discussion.

He knew they'd work out well with each other as soon as he saw them.  
And if Goro won't let Muhen take care of himself, he can at least trust that Akira will be there to guide him through any harder circumstances.

**Author's Note:**

> EVERYONE THANK MUHEN!!!


End file.
